How Austrian Startup FeelsLikeHome Is Driving Insurance Innovation

The idea for Feels Like Home started at Webster University in Vienna. How would you describe it in 50 words or less?

We started FeelsLikeHome.eu during our studies, as we noticed that foreign students had a lot of challenges to overcome during the relocation process, and not enough help to assist. We started as a face-to-face service and transformed into the current state as a one-stop-shop online solution for internationals during their relocation process.

How did you discover the need for the solution? What was the point you knew you had to go with it?

All of the numerous services and information we provide, we developed due to market demand. Housing, banking, visa information, telecommunications, etc. are all necessities that we discovered through the multitude of students that kept coming in and asking the same questions. The need for insurance was one of these core needs that all internationals required right at the beginning of their relocation process, so we started developing the best solution possible.

As a result of the increasing student community and the recently developed additional expat business line, we reached the point where we realized we needed to create our own project just to address our clients’ insurance needs. Along with the well-developed group insurance products and special pricing we could provide, we recognized the long overdue need for the digitalization of the insurance industry. Therefore, “we just had to go for it” and develop FeelSafe.at – quick, transparent, easy to understand, convenient and better than any other insurance products for internationals in Austria.

What were the biggest challenges you faced building FeelSafe? What did you learn in the process?

The main challenges were:

• getting the official approvals for the tailored products,
• translating all the legal documents,
• acquiring confirmation for all the processes behind the platform-based ordering system by UNIQA’s (legal) departments (our insurance provider),
• choosing the brand design to match both expats’ and students’ target markets,
• user friendliness of the order process for a complicated topic such as insurance,
• decoding the insurance jargon.

The whole process of developing a new product is one big learning process, but the main and most important things we can point out are:

1. to get user feedback early-on and quickly, before wasting efforts in the wrong direction, thus developing the product with your customers, as opposed to working under your own assumptions;
2. explain products simply, which are usually over-complicated – all information provided has to be clear and well-structured, otherwise you get questions and confusion from the users, causing more work down the road;
3. big companies take much longer to make decisions, which one would not expect or understand in a small dynamic company, so plan extra time for that.

Insurance is a complicated matter – sometimes even in German. How do you make sure your customers understand everything and take the right decision for them?

We have gathered a lot of experience servicing our users over the years and thus knew exactly what challenges they faced with the insurance matter, as well as their most common concerns and questions. We used all of the knowledge and feedback over these years of service to develop this online solution. We had to present the information using simple wording and used visual cues, tables and lists for clarity and structure. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

For example, some of our most popular features are our comparison tables for the expat and student products that compare visually each of the “Basic”, “Plus” and “Pro” products to each other, as well as to the “public insurance offer” on one simple page. In addition, we provide the hard facts and the FAQs to each product, as well as on the landing page directly. Finally, to make sure no questions or doubts are left, we have a Live Chat, where any user, new or current, can pose all of their questions and get an immediate answer from one of our insurance specialists.

In what ways do you define your success?

People are reserved towards the topic of insurance, it’s so to say ‘not very popular’. Thus we are proud to have created, and now provide, a product that we truly believe is the best option out there for internationals, which makes the whole process of acquiring insurance in Austria simple and easy.

Receiving amazing feedback and gratefulness from our users makes us feel completely fulfilled, along with the knowledge that we have accomplished our goal of making the relocation process for internationals easier.

Bootstrapped or financed: What fuels your startup now and what will in the future?

We are currently bootstrapped. However, we are considering taking in investments in order to grow faster. We are at a stage where our business operations are stable and well developed, but we are also experiencing rapid growth from our user base, thus we need to make sure we have the financial back-up to support this growth. In addition, we are planning a further international expansion for both projects – FeelsLikeHome.eu and FeelSafe.at – hence the need for further financial backing.

Where do you see Feels Like Home 3 years from now – how will it have changed expats’ and international studends’ lives?

The vision is to be THE one contact point internationals turn to when relocating abroad. We want to create a network and community effect, which will enable internationals to get acquainted with the Feels Like Home relocation system the first time around, making their next move even easier and smoother by simply continuing to use the trustworthy solutions we provide. Whether they come to Vienna, then move to Los Angeles, then Shanghai or Sydney, they can keep the same community benefits card, get solutions through the same platform, benefit from all the services they would already be familiar with, as well as save time and efforts by not having to fill out the endless paperwork over and over again.

Making their lives, easier, cheaper & more fun around the globe – by providing information, safe solutions, access to a social network, and saving them time and money in each location.

What was your most memorable moment so far?

It is difficult to pick from two occasions that clearly pop up in our minds as high-adrenaline moments. On one hand, definitely the “Online Launch” moment – happening exactly on the pre-planned date, after months of really hard work, creativity and jumping through hoops! And the other just as memorable event was the “First Purchase” – proving our concept and product are working as expected! Oh, and also hitting 10,000 likes in just 2 weeks – showing that people were desperately looking for a solution like FeelSafe.at!

What advice would you give fellow founders for their startup?

First of all, don’t be scared to compete with big players – you are most likely faster and more up-to-date. Create a plan of action and chase progress one task at a time – don’t get overwhelmed with the quantity and the diversity of the tasks you need to accomplish. Don’t make yourself dependable on IT – look for a system that can be easily used or transferred (to) between IT specialists for constant improvement of your product.

Last but not least, celebrate small successes with your team along the way, not just at the very end – it helps the team spirit and also keeps the motivation high.

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